Mahindra Thar OG Driven – Tough, Yet Civil

Have the updates on the Mahindra Thar OG made it more road-friendly without compromising its off-road chops? We sampled it on civil and wild surfaces

Story : Gaurav Davare

Photography: Chirayu Gijare

It’s quite an unusual scenario to have an existing model get a midlife refresh within the span of a year, and that’s exactly the case when it comes to the Mahindra Thar, which has gotten another facelift, and interestingly, is now called the Thar OG. The previous update focused on making the three-door Thar more civilised for better lifestyle credentials. For the latest update however, it’s gotten even more civilised in a different way. The question is whether the Thar OG being more road-friendly has come at the cost of its off-road abilities that many have come to love and associate with the Thar? Well, we got to sample the Thar OG not only around the sedate outskirts of Nashik, but also get down and dirty at the Mahindra Off-road Adventure Training Academy in Igatpuri to see if the balancing act has been achieved.

Fortunately, the Mahindra Thar OG looks mistakenly like the rough and tough off-roader we know and love with its gigantic presence being retained, so getting traffic to move out of the way continues to be a very easy task. That being said, there have been changes like the subtly revised front and rear bumpers and front grille slats being widened. You also get bits from the Thar Roxx like the C-shaped LED DRLs surrounding the projector LED headlamps. The changes continue with the SUV gaining front fog lamps, larger 19-inch alloy wheels and slightly revised tail lamp housing, with ‘OG’ lettering at the back rounding things off. Overall, these are subtle but visible enough changes to keep the Thar fresh.

If you step inside, apart from the new leatherette brown upholstery, you’d be hard pressed to find differences as you continue to get a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Android Auto and wired Apple Car Play, a rear-view camera and an internally operated switch for the fuel lid. But look closer and there are more convenience niceties and the new top-spec ZXT variant has most of them, like a wireless phone charging pad, front parking sensors as well as six airbags that includes head, pelvis, thorax and shoulder protection airbags.

The Thar wasn’t really a comfortable space to be seated in the second row, but with a wider track, the rear seats have been reworked and there’s the added convenience of proper armrests. That being said, the seats are still placed over the wheel arch so even though there is an improvement in space, it’s not enough to be seated in relative comfort.

Now what really makes the Thar OG more than a facelift is the serious amount of changes under the skin. It now runs on the M_GLYDE 4G platform like the Thar Roxx which has allowed higher torsional stiffness and a lighter chassis. Not only that, the 2.0-litre mStallion turbo-petrol and 2.2-litre mHawk diesel engine have been retained with six-speed manual and automatic gearboxes, and can be specced with 4WD. But now they make 162 hp/330 Nm and 152 hp/330 Nm respectively. That’s an uptick of 10 hp/10 Nm(over the automatic setup) and 20 hp/30 Nm respectively. In fact, the additional RWD option is now also available in the 2.2-litre mHawk diesel engine as well. The base 119-hp 1.5-litre D117 CRDe engine, paired to a six-speed manual gearbox continues as is.

If you thought that was all, well Mahindra has even introduced a new suspension setup, including a Pentalink rear suspension with Watt’s linkage. Remember the DaVinci dampers and Frequency Dependent Damping that was well appreciated in the Mahindra XUV 7XO? Well, it’s now on the Thar OG too. This is further complemented by disc brakes on all four wheels, the addition of an electronic locking differential for the rear, Snow, Sand and Mud Terrain modes, as well as an electric power steering setup replacing the hydraulic unit. All these changes have been made in the interest of giving the Thar OG better road manners than before. Question is, has it come at the cost of its off-road credentials?

Before we get to the muddy bits, let’s start with its road manners and a particular issue with the Thar was the consistent vertical oscillations it had on the rear especially on highway roads. After driving the 2.2-litre diesel-automatic 4WD setup, fortunately, this new suspension setup has made a serious improvement on that front. Sure, it doesn’t completely eliminate the rear bounce, but most of the previous issues are under control. There’s also been a minor improvement in the NVH levels which is always welcome although you can still hear wind noise once you get towards triple-digit speeds. The all-disc brake setup only further inspires confidence with that extra stopping power. While the electronic power steering has lightened up the feeling without compromising the feedback, I personally prefer the more weighted feeling from the previous hydraulic power steering setup. Last but not least, getting more power and torque is always a welcome addition and it is especially apparent in the lower end of the rev-range. It means you don’t need to think twice before putting the power down when you’re executing a quick overtake.

Now, to test out whether the more road-friendly nature has affected its rough and tough nature, the Mahindra Off-road Adventure Training Academy in Igatpuri is the perfect proving ground for it. The course had a mix of broken ridges, steep hills, Rock Crawl, unpaved trails, huge trenches, as well as slushy water ponds. The key to off-roading unlike circuit racing isn’t speed, its consistent momentum. Running the Thar OG largely on 4L mode for maximum traction and torque in a low gear ratio, the off-road chops have not really been compromised as it managed to tackle many of the challenges without much hassle. The new electronic locking rear differential came in handy for maximising traction as it provided equal torque to the rear wheels. In fact, the new suspension setup makes the experience nicer as there’s lesser body roll and more control, so you aren’t tossed around as much inside. While all these mechanical upgrades are great for the Thar OG, I still believe a smaller off-roader can still do the job just fine since approach, departure and rampover angles are the true magic behind off-roading.

Interestingly, Mahindra has kept the prices of the older variants identical with only the new top-spec ZXT variant actually stretching out the price range. With introductory prices ranging from Rs 10.32 lakh to Rs 18.99 lakh (ex-showroom), it’s actually a very tempting deal as the Mahindra Thar OG has managed to become more road-friendly without compromising on its rough and tough personality that it gained its reputation for. It should give this off-road SUV better legs against the Force Gurkha (three-door) and the Maruti Suzuki Jimny, whilst getting a significant step closer to the more civilised Thar Roxx (five-door).